Through Asiamoney’s awards period, Vietnam has seen a handful of capital markets transactions, but in comparison with other southeast Asian countries, here foreign firms lead most primary transactions. The long-term relationships of bulge-bracket banks can mean when things are slow, local firms are left fighting for scraps.
Of the eight trades executed since June 2018, Credit Suisse held a leading role on six, representing $882 million of the total $987 million in value, Dealogic data shows. Most were by repeat issuers and three were convertible bonds, which require expertise rarely found in the domestic firms in emerging and frontier markets.
As a result, SSI Securities made it onto the league table, but only with a tiny $2.3 million IPO for Vietnam National Shipping Lines. But the firm found its way onto the mandates of deals in the past – it did so during our previous awards period, including on a number of large listings by the subsidiaries of local conglomerate Vingroup.
Vietnam’s bond market is a different animal, with little corporate issuance and primarily government notes to trade, a business overwhelmingly dominated by Techcom Securities. This year the award winner was judged by its business in the livelier market for trading stocks and fund certificates. It is there SSI Securities excels, the top broker on Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HOSE).
Based on the available data from HOSE it dealt 21% of all the trades on the bourse in the second half of 2018. Compare that with its main competitors Ho Chi Minh City Securities and Viet Capital Securities, which handled 11.73% and 9.58%, respectively.
In the first quarter of 2019, SSI handled 15% of the market, ahead of rivals, and in the second quarter 13%, again topping the broker league tables. For Asiamoney’s fourth-quarter issue last year we polled readers to find out the top brokers in countries across Asia Pacific. In Vietnam, SSI was top in brokerage, country research and sales services, winning more than one third of the votes in each category. It is clear that Vietnamese market participants recognize the firm’s capability.
Taking into account its trading prowess, there is no doubt that SSI, driven by managing director Bui The Tan, deserves to win in 2019.